Masala Boly, UN Volunteer with UNICEF in Burundi

Masala Boly first served the needs of children as a volunteer in an orphanage in Mexico, before advocating on their behalf as a UN Volunteer for UNICEF in Burundi.

After a short period of training in the capital Bujumbura, she was assigned to Gitega, a provincial town in the middle of the country, where violation of children’s rights is rife.

A few days later Masala was sent on mission to Ngozi and Kayanza in Northern Burundi to monitor the process of harmonizing child protection standards for community-based Child Protection Committees (CPCs), a local initiative supported by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community members to ensure the respect of rights for children at community level.

Masala and her colleagues observed the election of CPC members who act on a voluntary basis by assessing morality and commitment to the cause of children’s rights.

The UN Volunteer is aware of the complexity of child protection work; however the field mission left positive insights in her:

“Keeping in the background as a discreet bystander, with fascination and happiness I observed how women and men from the community discussed, argued and organized what is essentially the lynchpin of the child protection system being built in Burundi. Watching these women and men, mostly farmers, engaging in the meeting and welcoming the new CPC members with cries of joy, I applaud such devotion to the cause of children’s rights.”

Read Masala’s full story